Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Utley Addresses His Injured Knee

Chase Utley just spoke with reporters about the right knee that has sidelined him indefinitely.

Here is some of what he said:

Q: Have you felt any better?A: As you all know I had a cortisone shot about a week ago or so. I got a little bit of relief from it. Not as much as I was anticipating. So on that front nothing has changed a whole lot. I’m still taking practice. I’m still playing catch. Just trying to take it easy on my legs right now and go from there.

Q: How much do you know about the issues you have?A: Well, it’s something I’m trying to educate myself more and more on. Trying to get as many opinions as possible on how to treat it. There’s no black and white here. It’s something you have to deal with. And obviously it’s a little frustrating right now, but we have to look at the big picture and try to get this resolved, obviously quickly, but also be in good spirits for the long run.

Q: Is surgery the last resort or are you considering it?A: I think that’s a last resort at this point. We’re going to try to exhaust every avenue prior to that and continue to see how it goes and monitor it on a daily basis. Again, it is frustrating. At this point I have to stay positive and stay on top of things, which I think we’ve been doing.

Q: Are you scheduled to see anybody right now?A: As of now, no. But we’re trying to put as much information together as possible and try to pick as many brains as possible to find the best way to go about this.

Q: Do you anticipate playing this season?A: Like I said, my goal is to alleviate this as quickly as possible, but still keep in mind I have a career ahead of me.

Q: Do you have any sense of what the non-surgical options might be?A: Those are things we’re discussing right now. Nothing off the top of my head that I could say, but those are things that we’re trying to figure out. We’re trying to pick as many brains as possible and try to treat this appropriately. I imagine if you talked to 20 different doctors you might hear 20 different opinions. We’re trying to get the best doctors in this field and go from there.

Q: Have you ever gotten a cortisone shot before in your knee?A: I’ve had a few cortisone shots over the course of my career, nothing abnormal. Cortisone is there to relieve some symptoms if you have them. Things like that have worked in the past. Right now it’s not working as much as it had in the past, so we’re going to continue to keep plugging away and go from there.

Q: If you have the surgery, miss four to six weeks and come back why not do that?A: Well, what you said would make sense. But it’s not that cut and dried.

Q: Do you have your won medical people working on this?A: We’re trying to stick together on this. Like I said, exhaust all avenues. The Phillies medical staff has done an outstanding job trying to contact as many people as they can to try to get the most information they can that will move us in the right direction.

Q: Is it time to take more precaution in the way you play?A: I broke my hand a few years ago, which in my opinion was a freak thing. I tore a ligament in my thumb, which again, was a fairly freakish type of injury. A had a hip issue a few years ago that we treated and has responded extremely well. So in that aspect, it’s tough. I’ve played this game for a little while and I feel like I play it the right way. I don’t know any other way to play.

Q: Could you play differently even if you wanted to? It seems hardwired into your DNA.A: That’s a good question. I guess time will tell.

Q: Is the season started today could you play?A: I think at this point, we’re not trying to find the easy way out. I’m trying to look at this in the big picture. That’s the frustrating part because everyone who knows me best knows the only place I’d rather be is on the field. So it is disappointing. But right now it’s probably not in my best interest to be out there.

Q: Is hard to sit and watch?A: It’s not a whole lot of fun to be honest with you. As you guys know, you’re around me, you guys know I enjoy playing. That’s where I feel most comfortable. Being in the dugout is not the most comfortable feeling.

Q: When do you feel the pain?A: Batting it doesn’t bother me whatsoever. Playing catch it doesn’t bother me. It’s more the pounding on it — the jumping, the running, things like that there is definitely pain there. I’ve had those things in the past that have gone away with treatment. Right now it’s not going away. Again, we’re trying to do the best things we can to alleviate this.

Q: Are you doing non-impact cardio to stay in shape?A: We’re doing everything I possibly can to stay in shape without putting stress on my lower body.

Q: Has it been tough to stay positive through this?A: It can be difficult. When things aren’t going your way, it shows someone’s true character. It can be difficult at times, but at this point I can’t change anything from what I did in the past. I can only move forward with a positive attitude.

Q: What are expectations for getting on the field?A: It really is unknown. I’m doing everything I can at this point to get back on the field. There is no timetable. We’re not going to look for the short-term solution. I want to be smart about this and realize I have three years left under this contract to fulfill.

Q: Do the great expectations for this time make it more frustrating?A: The good way to look at is we have a very good team — strong pitching staff and an established veteran team that knows how to win. So it’s disappointing to not be a part of that right now but I have a lot of confidence in my teammates.

There was an Orthopedic on DNL recently who said it is a 4-6 week rehab. It is supposedly something that can be done with arthroscopy and is minimally invasive; just a kind of cleanup procedure. Reading about it, I don’t see how it could take 8-12.

Phan52: A Novacare doctor was on WIP this a.m and spoke about the arthroscopic surgery and the fake that Chase is a professional athlete adds to the recovery time another words to get in playing shape.

Not good news @ all….

Rumor has it the Phils top scout is in Texas spurring Michael Young rumors :-)

Michael Young is NOT the answer. WHile he can hit (hopefully) he can’t play the field. It’s why he keeps getting moved around by the Rangers. I’d be much happier to try to get a good 3b and move Polanco back to 2nd. We have SIngleton, Blanton (or KK) and a few other pieces we can move if the right player is there. On a scale of 1-10, I want a 6-7 hitter and a 7-8 fielder. Lousy glove play makes our roation useless.

karen: I did, but I didn’t want to pick on you.
Actually, the bigger grammatical error is “another words,” where you meant to say “in other words.”
But, I type this junk at work most of the time, and don’t always have time to edit.

Valdez can’t be the everyday 2nd baseman because he cannot hit enough to put him out there for more than a week at a time. Besides that, you would lose his versatility off of the bench which hurts the team in tight games and if Rollins needs a day off as there is nobody else to play SS on this team, at present. Young is NOT the answer because he has not played 2nd base, on even a semi regular basis in like 8 years. And before you think that Polanco can be moved to 2nd and Young plays 3rd base, what do you do when Utley comes back and Polanco goes back to third? You are stuck with an overpaid, aging and unhappy 3rd baseman who can’t play another position that well. Then factor in the trade chips you need to cash. You do not trade a stud like Singleton for an overpaid , short term answer like Young. That’s just dumb. Sounds like something a WIP homer would come up with after talking to Angelo. Got to keep trying Josh Barfield there. He is only 27 yo, very athletic , has been a somewhat successful 2nd baseman. You can also wait for the final cuts in a couple of weeks. it’s VERYY likely that someone will shake loose and can be acquired without giving up ” the Farm”, literally.

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